The "Friendly" Skies

OK – so you’ve all read about the guy at the airport in San Diego who just refused the body scan and the invasive pat down by the TSA. I won’t go into whether or not that is that wrong or right – or just plain scary – but having just read about this in the news, and having just endured this myself just two weeks ago, I was sent back in my mind to the simpler days of visiting the airport when I grew up.

We – like most every family – had dreams of going to Hawaii. Growing up in Seattle, we kind of felt we were close enough that it was more of a reality, so we had a change jar that we all had to contribute to when a variety of family rules weren’t followed or chores not done. While this was exciting and fairly inspiring, it was never going to get us plane fare to the Hawaiian Islands.

In ’75, my folks bought a timeshare on Kauai (back when they were a good deal) and we began many years of happy Hawaiian travels, and this brings me to the subject of this blog post – visiting airports when I was a kid.

There was no such thing as airport security back then. I mean – I’m sure there was – they probably scanned the checked baggage but there was nothing that stopped us from going right out to the gate. We had a tradition that every time before a flight the whole family would go out to breakfast at a Sambo’s or a Denny’s. The whole family – Grandmas, Aunts, Uncles, etc. – would all go out to celebrate the fact that someone was getting to go to Hawaii. From there we would all go to the airport and see the lucky ones off. This means that we all went to the gate and sat with them until they boarded the plane and then we watched the plane take off. What a great exciting time that was – even if you weren’t the ones going. And conversely, a bunch of the family members would be there at the gate in Seattle to meet them when they came back. It was awesome to be the ones coming up the ramp from the plane and be greeted by family and friends.

It’s all so different today – the limited access for anyone not flying; the incredible level of security that we’re all subjected to; the limited service on the flights; the limited amount of luggage we can take… I could go on, but I won’t. I’m not complaining, just saying that it was a LOT funner back then!

We're in, I'm back. Wow! - 5 months

Well - It's been 5 months since I last posted. We've been in our house for just over a month. Whew! What a big project.

Here is a link to the website that we sat up and posted to on a constant basis. It shows our house from the beginning to the end. It is such a huge blessing to have a home that works for my family and especially my son.

http://www.goldenhillshome.info

We have tons of pictures here, although I do need to have some final pictures put in. We're still looking to finish decorating (heck -we're still looking for new couches) so I'll post more when we get them all done.

In the meantime, I am intending to get back into blogging... It will take me awhile to get back into the swing of it, but I'm excited to reconnect with you all!

I'm not gone - really

Hi, my friends!

Building a house takes a LOT of work, a LOT of time and a LOT of effort. Even if you happen to be an Architect (I am), draw your own plans (I did), know your contractor really well, (I do) and think you know how to handle all the details (I thought I did). It seems like all I do when I'm not at work is take care of all the details, make decisions, choose products, redesign spaces, etc. And I have a VERY capable wife who seems to be doing most of the work! I could post a link to our website if y'all are interested in seeing it progress.

Add to this the fact that I am the busiest that I've ever been at my "real job" and it makes for very little play time.

So - I will be back to blogging, full force, I just don't know how soon. I really miss you all and reading all your blogs. I'll be having to catch up on them all when I do get back to it.

A quick mention (and, of course, this should have been done a week ago)... not that I often use this venue to toot my own horn or ply my wares, but the book I wrote "My '70s Book", would be a great Father's Day gift. It's great for a wide range of ages, but mostly if you can relate to life in the '70s. A few of you have read it and have liked it... some have even blogged about it.

So - if you're out of ideas and need a late Father's Day present (or just want a good summer read) check it out! Hope you're all doing well - be back as soon as I can... :)

Look At The '70s Influence!

OK – so we’re not all crazy. It’s incredible to see how much the ‘70s still have influence over the world of entertainment today.

As I was perusing the web that last couple of days, all of these stories were “in the news” and made me realize just how the love for the ‘70s just aint going away.

Hawaii Five-0: Did you hear that this series that starred Jack Lord as Detective Steve McGarrett battling crime in beautiful Hawaii is coming back this fall? Of course it will have a new spin to it, and be updated in a variety of ways… but once again we can all dream of visiting the islands. Bonus – Daniel Dae Kim of LOST fame will be on it!

MacGyver /MacGruber: We’ve all seen the ads for this latest SNL movie coming out today. What is it about a guy can get out of any jamb with a paperclip, some string, a battery and a few other junk drawer odds-and-ends that keeps us watching? And though the movie will be more humor than mad tinkering skills, it’s still a tip of the hat to a great show – that was in the ‘80s, I know, I know…

A-Team: Despite today’s PC world view, it looks like they’re still gonna let Hannibal smoke his little cigars. With Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper on board, this will probably be a pretty big summer blockbuster. As long as they stick to the main premise of the TV show – lots of blowing things up and fighting! And – use the latest and greatest weaponry whenever possible. And yes, I know, also an ‘80s fare.

The Good Guys: This is a new TV show just about to start up. I read a review that noted this is an homage to the cop shows of the '70s, replete with muscle cars, awesome ‘70s soundtrack, mustaches and sideburns. I’m looking forward to this. I loved “Life on Mars” when it was out for some of the very same reasons, so it’ll be good to see that again.

Glee: I’ve never watched this – you just have to pick and choose which shows you watch. I heard that they have recently been singing a lot of Journey’s and REO Speedwagon’s songs. So the show is exposing a whole new generation to some of the great music we grew up with.

I know that this dances back and forth between the ‘70s and ‘80s, but the point is, there’s a lot of good stuff coming up that is based on some of the great stuff that we grew up with. Let’s hear it for our generation's impact.

March of Dimes Walk-a-Lot

Does anyone else remember when in the ‘70s we had the Walk-A-Lot in Seattle? Was this only in Seattle? Did everyone else do them all over the country?


Sponsored by the March of Dimes – a group that provides support for the families of infants who need to be in an NICU in the hospital – this was an opportunity to put your foot where your mouth was. It was a pretty basic set up. You’d start by getting all of the paperwork from a March of Dimes representative – my Mom was a rep which made it easy for us to get everything we needed. The Sponsor Form was a sign-up sheet for people to sign up and sponsor you a certain amount per mile. So – you’d make the rounds and get all your neighbors and relatives to sponsor you. Your Mom and Dad may even take your form to work where they might try to coerce their office mates to sponsor you, too. It was held in the summer. So you didn’t have the chance to take it to school – which was good if you were too scared to ask your friends or teachers.

The Walk-A-Lot was a 20 mile route that started and ended at the Seattle Center. There were a bunch of tables set up by the flag pavilion and you checked in there and started walking the route. There were check points every few miles where you got your sheet stamped to verify your progress. For you Seattleites, the route went from the Center over to Eastlake, under the freeway and then north on 15th NE as far as 130th. We then headed west across the freeway, over Aurora, down Greenwood and ended up on 15th NW, shot along Elliott Avenue and up Denny Way to the Seattle Center.

It was a lot of fun. It was an opportunity to do something good and participate in something much bigger than ourselves. We always kidded about how hard it was when we started, but by the end, we were pretty wiped out. We did it for quite a few years, and every time we were glad that we had done it, and it was for a worthy cause.

Sunday Drives...

We just bought a new van (new to us, it’s a 2008). We weren’t intending on buying a new van, but after someone decided to not slow down and totaled the backend of our van when my wife stopped at a crosswalk, we had no choice. (she’s ok… bit of whiplash, but feeling pretty good now – thanks for asking!)

Our van was wheelchair accessible which allowed us to transport our disabled son, so we had to order a replacement van from a company in Michigan that performs the conversions. We were without a van (and a 2^nd car) for almost 3 weeks as we shopped around, chose one, arranged for financing, worked out the insurance and waited for delivery.

It arrived Sunday morning and we met up with the guy who delivered it in a parking lot. It came in on one of those cool car carrier trucks. It traveled a few thousand miles and saw some rain and snow, so I got it all cleaned up and we took a drive on Sunday afternoon.

A Sunday drive.

It was a lot of fun as we drove around looking at all the wheat fields of the Palouse where we live (this is the prettiest time of year – all the fields are beautiful shades of green). Of course we were oohing and aahing at the things in our new van, but we spent the afternoon taking a drive and being together in our new van.

It made me wonder what happened to the practice of taking a Sunday drive. We grew up taking Sunday drives as a family. These were perfect outings for the Spring or Fall, when the weather wasn’t quite up to camping weather yet, but you wanted to get out and enjoy it. Mom would make up a picnic lunch and we’d take off right after we got home from church. There were a number of lakes, parks and rivers that we’d go to. There wasn’t a lot of planning ahead or buying stuff. We’d just hop in the car and go.

There are probably a few reasons why these are going by the wayside. When gas prices went up, some families might have cut back. As fewer folks went to church, Sunday afternoons lost their uniqueness – they became like another Saturday. As so many other entertainment options increased, an afternoon drive was less of a special thing.

I’d encourage you to try this as a family. Of course, to get the full effect, you’d have to leave the ipods, ipads, iphones, notebooks, zunes, cell phones, dvd players and gps systems at home. But – it might be fun! Give it a try and get to know your family as you enjoy the scenery!

Pizza Night, '70s Style!

It seems that lately there has been a lot of discussion about food on the blogs I frequent. We all love food, don’t we?

I felt like I should share what was one of my favorite meals growing up. Coming from a low to middle class family, we didn’t go out for dinner a lot, so we found ways to get around that. We made what we couldn’t afford to go out and buy as often as we’d have liked.

One of the best things that my mom made was Pizza. She used Appian Way pizza crust mix, which came with a can of pizza sauce, and we would make 2 or 3 pizzas at a time. These were awesome. They were big rectangular pies because she’d use cookie sheets to make them, and it often turned into a bit of a family effort. I think having these pizzas might have made me like foods that kids don’t necessary like – things like mushrooms, green peppers and olives. We all got involved in the building of the pizzas and so we had a personal interest in them and wanted to see if the ones we helped “design” came out good.

It was a special night when we had pizza for dinner, because we usually got to have pop with it. Pop for dinner – or anytime for that matter – was a special event. And, since it was so different than our normal dinners, we used to be able to eat out on the picnic table in the backyard, or around the counter island in the kitchen. It was very memorable and special because of how seldom we did it.

…funny how things like that help us to really appreciate our families and the simple lives we had growing up.